Optical fibers including materials which react in the presence of an analyte to alter the characteristics of light transmitted in the fiber are well known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,099 issued Aug. 11, 1983, for example, discloses fiber optic sensors for chemical and biochemical analysis, which employ an energy transmissive core with one or more coatings. The sensors are operative to modify energy passing through the core when an analyte is present. U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,496, issued May 30, 1989 also describes fiber optic sensors operating in a similar manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,263 issued May 20, 2001 describes a fiber optic sensor configured to exhibit uniform power loss along the length of the fiber optic sensors in order to achieve a predictable, preferably uniform, response to the presence of an analyte anywhere along the fiber length.
Fiber optic sensors designed to be operative over a long distance suffer increasing losses as a function of length. The high optical attenuation results in increasing difficulty in obtaining a usable signal indicative of the presence of an analyte. Therefore, there is a need in the art for fiber optic sensors that can provide signal levels at higher levels over longer distances. Also, if sensor surveillance is needed over a long continuous distance or at separated intervals over a long distance, it is desirable to be able to determine the location at which a sensing event has occurred.